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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: clip · net · prune · court · mate · kick · bulb · pitcher

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. court — of a king
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. net — for catching
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. net — after costs
  11. mate — to breed
  12. net — in sport
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bulb — for light
  15. mate — a partner
  16. kick — in football
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bulb — for light
  19. court — for sport
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. court — of law
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. mate — a friend
  24. clip — a video

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com